


The Dog Dies at the End

by This_is_my_toenail_collection



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Dogs, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, No Pronouns for MC, One Shot, Unnamed Apprentice (The Arcana), can't afford em, deceptive title
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:20:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24515290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/This_is_my_toenail_collection/pseuds/This_is_my_toenail_collection
Summary: Mercedes falls mysteriously ill, leaving Lucio to mourn her impending death.Lets be honest, we're just here to watch the bitch-boy suffer.
Relationships: Apprentice/Lucio (The Arcana), Lucio (The Arcana)/Reader, Lucio (The Arcana)/You
Comments: 22
Kudos: 90





	The Dog Dies at the End

**Author's Note:**

> Started making it.  
> Had a breakdown.  
> Bon Appetite.

"Oh I'm so worried about her" the count cooed for the umpteenth time that day, combing his non-metal fingers through Mercedes' unruly white fur. 

The dog in question breathed heavily as she lay, sprawled across Lucio’s lap. For weeks and weeks the poor girl had been very ill; never playing, refusing meals, vomiting, it was concerning how off she was. You sit in thought at Lucio’s side on his lavish bed and watch Melchior pace restlessly on the carpet below. Whimpers and growls revealing the other dogs growing concern for his partner.

"Maybe we should have Julian look at her again?" You suggest half-heartedly, fully prepared for him to snap at you. He almost does from the look on his face, but he doesn't have the energy to follow through. Instead, he just sighs and drops his head, burying his face in the sick dogs’ silky fur.

"No...Jules already said he's stumped. He's a person-doctor, not a dog-doctor." The count laments, voice muffled by Mercedes' mane.

"Then we should find a dog-doctor! That's a thing, right?" You continue, now he snaps.

"You think I didn't try?!" He spits harshly, sitting up abruptly yet careful not to jostle his precious baby. "Specialists are rare and expensive and Nadia said it would be ‘a waste of taxpayer money'" He continues bitterly. Quietly you lean in closer to him and drape an arm across his hunched back, offering what little comfort you can.

You'd had this conversation before in the months Mercedes had been sick, it always ended like this. Sullen and argumentative and ultimately hopeless. Melchior stops pacing and rests his chin on the bed, snuffling Mercedes’s fur with a small whine. You feel your heart breaking for the poor boys watching a family member slip slowly away.

With a hiccup that might've been a suppressed sob, Lucio carefully extracts himself from under the beautiful canine.

"I...I have to...not be here" he fumbles his words, making his way to his bedroom door. Melchior follows him curiously but stops in the doorway.

"You're leaving her alone?" You ask quietly. You aren't passing judgment, just asking him to say it out loud. He gulps loudly, facing away from you. Metal hand pressed to the wall as if he'd collapse without the support.

"Yes, I can't...I have busi…*sniff* business and ...I can't watch it…" his shoulders shake but you pretend not to notice, he obviously doesn't want you to see his crying.

"Ok" is your quiet reply. "You want me to come with you?" You ask wondering if he'd prefer your comfort to any form of solitude. He shakes his head vigorously, casting a nervous glance back at you.

"No no, stay with her...I don't want h-her to be  _ alONE!"  _ The end of the sentence turns into a squeal as the tears he'd been holding in finally catch in his throat. You watch him stomp quickly away and turn your eyes back on the suffering borzoi. She looks sick and exhausted but not in imminent danger of death. Was Lucio simply assuming the worst? Melchior leaps gracefully to the decadent comforter of the bed and starts grooming Mercedes' ears. 

In time Mercedes' shallow pants become soft whines. You reach out a hand to comfort her and almost get maimed as Melchior snaps and snarls. 

What?

Mercedes' whining grows more strained and you begin to panic. Why was she in pain? Why was Melchior being so aggressive all of the sudden? You consider getting Lucio but decide he'd just freak out and make the situation worse. Instead, you make sure the dogs are as comfortable as possible and you sit back to observe.

0

He wasn't proud of leaving them, but he couldn't bear to see his baby girl in that much pain. Lucio sat curled on a plush sofa he'd designated his crying sofa™ and wept for the poor babies. He knew Mercedes didn't have long, and Melchior would never hold out without his girl. Lucio couldn't believe he'd lose them so soon, and with another sudden wave of sadness, he remembered that he'd  _ left  _ them  _ alone. _

But that was hours ago.

Now he couldn't help the pathetic sobs that racked him, and he wasn't even ashamed anymore. He'd been with those dogs for so long it was like a piece of his soul was dying. This was the end of a huge chapter of fighting for glory and fleeing from his past. All of it with those two beautiful canines by his side. 

He kept oscillating between disbelief and complete despair. He'd be so sad and then realize it was  _ actually happening _ and the grief would drag him deeper. It wasn't fair! They were only...well he didn't know how old they were but they weren't old. They were playful and healthy and they could have easily lived another ten years. Lucio actually couldn't breathe for a moment from the force of his crying, he didn't care if he was ruining the suede upholstery. 

This was the end, the  _ end _ .  _ Nothing could fix this, nothing could ever  _ **_be the same._ **

He buried his fingers in his hair and pulled as his thoughts seemed to growl at him. The mantra of failure and endings repeating over and over. Refusing to be silent. It was an unexpected voice that pulled him out of the quicksand.

"Lucio?"

His head snapped up at the audacity of the doctor to interrupt his suffering. Quickly his anger turned to fear as he realized the state Jules had caught him in.

"You uh…" Julian looked away, mildly uncomfortable with the sight of the count crying. Not just crying but outright sobbing in abject heartbreak. "MC wanted me to get you, it seemed urgent" 

Lucio tossed the words around in his exhausted mind, taking several minutes to realize their meaning. Finally, he felt his stomach sink at the implication.

She was gone.

Numbly Lucio stood and walked past the doctor, not even offering a nod. His legs carried him without his input through the familiar halls of his wing. Expensive paintings featuring the friends he was about to lose mocking him as he trudged.

Coming to the room he'd left, he stood outside the extravagant door. He needed to open it, but he couldn't find the strength to lift his arm, so instead, he used the magic one. At least there was a modicum of detachment with the gesture. His heart cracked in two as he heard the squealing cry's that no doubt came from Melchior. Without letting himself hesitate he pushed the heavy door open.

And his heart stopped.

There on his bed was the single sight that could bring him to his knees, and it did. He didn't even feel the impact as he hit the ground, kneeling in the doorway. Mercedes laid where he left her, breathing heavily with exertion but obviously sleeping. That, however, was not the sight that knocked the wind out of the count. 

The sight was that of you carefully cradling several tiny, whining furballs in your lap, wrapped in your shawl.

"Puppies…" you mutter disbelieving to the man who collapsed in the doorway.

Melchior curled himself around your right side, flush against you so he could reach the puppies you held. Dutifully licking each one and making sure they could cry. 

Suddenly Lucio was light-headed.

All the building stress and sadness from the months Mercedes had been "sick" suddenly left him. The weight releasing him was so euphoric he swore he could've floated away. You almost looked like you were glowing as you cleaned each little pup and placed them by their mother to nurse. 

"Puppies…" Lucio repeated you softly, it was all his mind would say.

0

Four.

He thought he'd lost his two best friends but instead, he gained four furry little jellybeans. Beautiful coats were already as soft as silk. Big mismatched eyes and even bigger paws. Mercedes woke healthy and happy a few hours after her ordeal was over and Lucio was immediately by her side to cuddle her and shower her with affection.

He had been so scared and so convinced it was the end. In his head, he'd built it up to be the death of everything he loved and the culmination of all his mistakes. Yet in the end, it was only the birth of something beautiful. Literally.

You had taken a liking to a particular puppy, the second one born. His curiosity was only trumped in cuteness by his folded ears. Lucio watched the little furball climb clumsily over your shoulders and through your hair, long nose nudging into everything it could reach. You must’ve noticed him staring so you fix him with a stare, carefully untangling the pup from your hair.

“Shouldn’t you go tell Nadia there’s gonna be more dogs running around?” you ask, chuckling as the disoriented, floppy eared boy wobbles away.

“I can’t go anywhere, I’m a father now.” He responds with the utmost seriousness, one puppy in each hand and the third climbing up his chest. Mercedes snorts in a way that could’ve been interpreted as laughter, Melchior follows unnecessarily close behind the floppy-eared puppy as he hobbles across the bedspread.

**Author's Note:**

> Nadia wasn't being a dick by not letting Lucio hire a vet. She knew Mercedes was fine and just wanted to see Lucio suffer a little.
> 
> For a limited time only, leaving comments has been made absolutely free!  
> (Please feed me for I am but skin and bone)


End file.
